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Context for the work The Secret is...Child Sexual Abuse is still happening ➤ Statistics vary but at a minimum 1 in 3 girls; 1 in 5 boys are sexually abused ➤ A child will tell 7 people before anyone takes action ➣ And sometimes nothing happens... ➤ Stigma that is silencing us ➤ Victim identity keeps us disempowered and we want to change that ➤ Nobody is doing much about it, onus is still on children to stop it Our culture still puts the site of prevention on the child ➤ Because of our experience survivors can lead the way; the commitment, and the endurance it will take to make long lasting change

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Context for the work ➤ Child sexual abuse ➣ Maintains power relations within our culture ➣ Patriarchy is supported ➤ Solutions need to be as complex as the problem is ➣ All levels of our culture ➤ Survivors are central to creating solutions ➣ voice and action from the ones who know

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Evaluation of Breaking the Silence Project ➤ The project, designed by and for women who experienced child sexual abuse, is focussed on the prevention of child sexual abuse. ➤ A participatory action research (PAR) model means that the research team is comprised of people who are directly affected by the research. The team will start with a core group of survivors, however because the team will evolve as the project evolves members will come and go.

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Women survivors ➤ Practicing being Brave ➤ Next Step for the Prevention Strategy ➣ mobilize ➣ empower ➣ community leaders for a prevention strategy ➤ Break down the barriers to communication about a taboo topic, child sexual abuse

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This research will address some important questions ➤ How do you effectively engage first voice accounts around the prevention of child sexual abuse? ➤ How do adult survivor’s of child sexual abuse create knowledge about prevention? ➤ How do local communities respond to educational materials created by adult survivor’s of child sexual abuse?

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Project Update ➤ The writers submitted their manuscript to the publisher, Acorn Press, for a March 2009 release of their book. ➤ Evaluation of the project process is ongoing. ➤ The Board continues to write funding proposals for the next phases of the project. ➤ All our presentations and public reports will be posted to our website.